The view from USS Germantown towards USS Peleliu at Subic Bay on 24 September. Source: US Navy
The United States and Philippine militaries began 11 day-long 'PHIBLEX' amphibious and disaster relief exercises involving about 5,000 sailors and marines from the two countries on 29 September - a month after the US disbanded the Joint Special Operations Task Force - Philippines (JSOTF-P).
Tarawa-class landing helicopter assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA-5) is leading an expeditionary strike group that also includes Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD-42) and the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The two ships docked in Subic Bay ahead of the drills in the latest example of the increased US presence at its former naval base.
According to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), 72 US warships and submarines visited the port between January and June 2014. That figure compares with a total of 88 US naval vessel visits in 2012, 54 in 2011 and 51 in 2010.
The move from JSOFT-P, which ran for 14 years and focused on counter-terrorism in southern Philippines, to more conventional military-to-military exercises reflects changing threat perceptions in Manila and Washington.
The political side of this includes the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which was signed on 28 April and outlines the ways in which US assets can be deployed in the Philippines. Local sensitivities to the US previous role as a colonial master and enabler of the Marcos regime have ensured that all bases in the Philippines remain under local control, even if the lion's share of the assets deployed there are American.
The signing of EDCA coincided with the deactivation of JSOTF-P, which a US spokesman said had served its purpose. "Our partnership with the Philippine security forces has been successful in drastically reducing the capabilities of domestic and transnational terrorist groups in the Philippines - to the point where they have largely devolved into disorganised groups resorting to criminal undertakings to sustain their activities," a 26 June statement said.
JSOTF-P was established in 2000 and headquartered since 2002 alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP's) Western Mindanao Command at Camp Navarro, Zamboanga, on the southern island of Mindanao. Unlike the 5,000-strong 'PHIBLEX' drills, it typically consisted of 600 personnel from mostly special operations units. In recent months the task force drew down to 320 members.
Under strict rules of engagement, JSOTF-P personnel were barred from combat operations in the Philippines, with US embassy officials in Manila telling IHS Jane's that even a perception of its forces engaging in combat would constitute "mission failure".
JSOTF-P said the cornerstone of its mission has been "capacity building, civil-military operations, information operations and intelligence support operations". The task force has provided unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), unmarked aircraft/helicopters and a maritime support vessel that proved critical in supporting AFP military operations. JSOTF-P's primary targets were Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) extremists. The ASG has been whittled down to an estimated 300 members.
A transition plan will see "some key capabilities transition to rotational elements, primarily deployed from special operations forces and assigned under PACOM [Pacific Command]," according to a US Department of Defense statement. Part of this transition will entail working with Philippine headquarters rather than tactical units on the ground. It is understood the new organisation will be called the PACOM Augmentation Team, but its size has not been specified.
US military assistance will continue via joint combined exercise training, foreign liaison elements, counter-terrorism advice and expeditionary response capabilities, as illustrated in June when it was announced DynCorp International had been awarded a second option on a USD37.9 million contract to support JSOTF-P facilities and activities until June 2015.
However, the US admits it "does not know what the final disposition will look like," but it will continue supporting the AFP to ensure violent armed groups do not regain a foothold. Shortly before his retirement in July, General Emmanuel Bautista, the AFP's chief of staff, praised enhanced training opportunities with the US. "If we're to defend each other, we need to train together, and we need to develop habits of cooperation on exercise so that we'll be prepared for any contingency," he told IHS Jane's .
http://www.janes.com/article/44106/us-philippines-start-phiblex-drills-as-special-forces-mission-draws-down
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